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Ultimately, the world's media institutions should be judged by how each responded to coverage of a genocide.

That is indeed the focus of an important and disturbing book edited by Carleton journalism professor and former Star reporter Allan Thompson.

The book is a compendium of 34 papers presented at an international symposium held at Carleton in 2004 on the role of the media in the Rwandan genocide.

One starts with the bald fact that three Rwandan journalists were not only indicted but convicted of genocide and incitement to genocide by the International Tribunal for Rwanda. This marks the first time ever journalists have been held accountable for their words under the United Nations Convention on Genocide.

The first section of the book is devoted to an analysis of the hate literature that polluted Rwanda in the days and months leading up to the genocide. Sadly, as is pointed out, the rest of the world was left unaware of what was unfolding.

The second section deals with international media coverage of the genocide in which close to one million Rwandans, mostly Tutsi, were slaughtered in 100 days.

Quite shockingly, the world media missed the story of the genocide for the first month. Missed it badly – and thus any opportunity to raise a public hue and cry that might have led to a different response at the United Nations.

The third section is dedicated to an examination of the war-crimes trial against the three journalists, while the fourth section looks at the aftermath and the way forward.

Altogether, there are 34 contributors, including Gen. Roméo Dallaire; Gerald Caplan, author of the Organization of African Unity report on the genocide; Alison Des Forges of Human Rights Watch; noted journalist Linda Malvern; UN trial lawyer Charity Kagwi-Ndungu; and BBC journalist Mark Doyle, at times the only foreign correspondent in Kigali in the early stages of the mayhem.

With such a wide spectrum, it is inevitable the quality of analysis, not to mention writing style, varies considerably. Ultimately, however, that becomes a strength for it brings together a host of sometimes conflicting opinion that serves to enliven and enrich the debate.

For many of us, the concept of hate literature being taken seriously, or even worse, contributing to a genocide, is difficult to fathom. Yet, when hate directed at one ethnic group becomes the common discourse of the state broadcasting company, the effects can be devastating. In chilling detail, Des Forges chronicles the lengths to which radio was used to incite and promote the killing.

She also highlights the refusal of the United States to use its jamming capacity both before and during the genocide to shut down the state radio. Citing freedom of speech concerns, U.S. officials decided no action should be taken. Five years later, president Bill Clinton, learning from this bitter experience, issued a permanent policy directive permitting U.S. intervention in any future cases in which radio stations call for violence.

Equally compelling is the review of the bimonthly Kangura by Rwandan journalist Marcel Kabanda. The print equivalent of state radio, Kangura is most famous for its publication of the so-called "Ten Commandments" in 1990. Through these commandments, the paper urged all Hutus to see Tutsis as the "enemy," break all "ties" with them and ultimately kill them.

That such a campaign of hatred could be spawned over five years with most of the world unaware only adds to the sense of horror.

The largest number of papers, 13, is dedicated to the international media's coverage of the genocide. Quite simply, for the first month or so, the world's media framed the killings and mayhem as part of a civil war between invading Tutsis and the governing Hutus. While human rights groups were more accurately describing what was unfolding, the international media were otherwise distracted by the first free elections in South Africa and the tragedies taking place in Bosnia.

The most compelling article by journalist Malvern concludes that the genocide took both the British and U.S. media totally by surprise. Thus, she concludes, most reporters fell back on the tried and true cliché of ancient tribal hatreds playing out as a civil war. Sadly, this misreporting allowed Western powers to wash their hands of any moral – let alone legal – responsibility to step in and prevent a genocide.

The final section has a compelling piece by editor Thompson on the duty and responsibility of the press to report. In short, journalists must start by doing their jobs. There is also a challenging piece on where to draw the line between hate literature and free expression in a post-genocidal society.

In his introduction to the book, former UN secretary general Kofi Annan writes: "There can be no more important issue and no more binding obligation than the prevention of genocide."

To this end, The Media and the Rwanda Genocide is not only insightful, it provides a valuable guidepost on what should never happen again.

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